Union of Aroida
The Union of Aroida - commonly referred to as Aroida or Eroine (based on the old Eroina) is a federal presidential republic in the Milky Way. It was established on March 1, 3268, after the government of the Wolf Union collapsed and the people took to the streets. One month later, on April 5, elections were held and Anthony Kolak, the Centrist Party's nominee for president, was elected to office. History Establishment and independence of the Aroian Republic In 2407, the Aroian Space Colonization Agency (also known as ASCA) established several colonies in the Gliese 687 system. Many years later, in 2581, the Aroian colonies declared independence from the Eastern Union and formed the Aroian Republic. 2459 protests In 2412, scientists began researching the possibility of reading the mind of an individual by developing several nanobots that could be injected into someone's head. These nanobots would collect data and transmit them to a nearby computer. When desired, the operator of the nanobots (i.e. the person collecting the data) could order the nanobots to shut down and leave the body. At the time it was highly experimental and classified, but on January 21, 2459 scientists released their first public prototypes. Within days of the first release, many citizens of major cities (and even smaller ones) protested against the development of such nanobots. On March 25, 2459, the government came to an agreement with the protesters, but not before 549 people died and 1 934 people were injured. The government prohibited the research on mind-reading and ordered all nanobots to be destroyed. Aroida-H.A.S. war In 2581, just a few months after the declaration of independence was signed, the Aroian government announced plans to colonize supposedly uninhabited planets in a neighbouring system. What they didn't know that the system wasn't uninhabited and in fact part of a small empire. The colonists settled down on an uninhabited planet and called it Aroida VI, but soon afterwards tensions with the H.A.S., the native species of the system, began to rise. The Aroian people realized that they could not win a potential war without increasing their military strength and they started to produce ships on massive scale. Less than a year later, on February 7, 2582, the H.A.S. declared war on the Aroian Republic. Aroida VI was one of the first colonies to be attacked. None of the colonists survived. One day later an armada of H.A.S. ships reached Aroida Prime. Most of the Aroian ships were still unfinished, but planetary defenses were succesful in repelling the H.A.S. attackers. On the same day it was decided to increase the building rate of warships and two months later there were more than two thousand warships. It wasn't enough to beat the H.A.S. in their own space, but defending the Aroian Republic itself proved to be succesful. During the first few days of the war, the H.A.S. released poisonous gas into Aroida III's atmosphere. More than five million inhabitants where killed. This incident was one of the reasons for the Aroians to consider replacing body parts with cybernetic implants. When the war finally ended on November 29, 2604, a treaty was signed, but both sides had heavy casualties and many ships, space stations and buildings were destroyed. In order to make themselves stronger during future wars, the Aroian people changed several parts of their bodies with cybernetic implants to improve their strength, vision, speed and intelligence. The war had significant impact on the Aroian people. Military strength started to become a priority and even after the war, many warships were built. In essence, the war changed the believes and entire culture of the Aroians. Foundation of the Union of Aroida and Evaria After the nuclear disaster of 2672 on Earth, contact with Earth was lost and both the Aroian and Evarian peoples agreed that a union between the two republics was needed. The two republics officially united six months later to form the Union of Aroida and Evaria. The Aroian Civil War While most of the population agreed with the foundation of the UNAE, less than 15 percent of the population did not. They found giving up Aroida's independence was a mistake and felt that the Aroian government had become corrupt. In 2674, the Aroian Resistance Movement was found. Their ultimate goal was to regain Aroida's independence. This eventually caused a full scale civil war, which started on October 27, 2675. The resistance movement was in control of more than 60% of the fleet and of Aroida III, Aroida IV and Aroida V. The local government officials were replaced by members of the resistance movement and a new Aroian republic was declared. Because the resistance movement was in control of most of the fleet, intervention was difficult, but the Aroian Bureau of Investigations sent several task forces to occupied territory. Their mission was to infiltrate the government and regain control. On January 19, 2683, the UNAE regained control of Aroida IV. Seven weeks later, they regained control of Aroida III. Another week later, they regained control of Aroida V. On May 9, a treaty was signed. The resistance movement was dissolved and Aroida III, IV and V reintegrated into the UNAE as part of the Aroian subdivision. More than 200,000 people were killed and 359,000 million people were wounded. Military presence in Aroida During the Aroian Civil War, riots were common and major cities were no longer as safe as they used to be. President Pjotr Domeč declared martial law in all cities with a population of at least 200,000, which affected around 75% of the cities. Military troops were deployed on the streets and curfews were enforced by the military as well. Crime rate instantly decreased. After the war, several members of the Aroian Council vetoed a resolution to end martial law on all planets. The law hasn't been changed ever since, even though the UNAE Council has been urging to end the martial law for more than two hundred years. Independence from the UNAE On June 11, 3264, Aroida declared independence from the UNAE to form the Federal Republic of Aroida. Military personnel and ships were recalled to Aroida on the same day. Citizenship was granted to both Evarian citizens living on Aroida at the time of independence and ethnic Aroians. The independence of Aroida was relatively peaceful, aside from riots in some of the bigger cities. With several days, Aroida adopted a new flag, based on its old one, and reinstated Spanish as an official minority language. A little more than a month later a new currency was adopted. First Intergalactic War Within days after Aroida declared independence, the H.A.S. launched several attacks on Ziveriu, attempting to disable several ship construction facilities. They managed to destroy 27 (from 1,249) facilities before most of the 213 attacking ships were destroyed by the Aroian fleet. Tensions with the Inehas Empire began to rise immediately and the Aroian government urged them to break of their attacks. Aroida retaliated three weeks later and in return, destoyed several Hassian outposts. The Inehas empire followed by destroying seven exploration vessels close to the Aroida-Inehas border (but were still all in Aroian space) On July 19, 3264, Aroida declared war on Inehas and sent a total of 3,000 ships into Hassian space. Their mission was to get rid of the Hassian threat and establish a democratic government. Fall of the Wolf Union The Wolf Union was widely unpopular among Aroian citizens, but heavy censorship and arresting anyone suspected of criticizing the government was characterized as an enemy of the state and, as such, sentenced to life in prison. When the Evarian government surrendered to the Inehas Empire and a war between the Wolf Union and Inehas was deemed inevitable, more and more people started to openly resist the government, voicing their concerns about the government not being able to protect the lives of its citizens. Anthony Kolak, a former captain who gained fame after being elected governor of Nekodiu, founded a new political movement called Let us be free and many people soon joined this newly founded organization. Although it was banned the day after it was founded, it became popular so quickly the government did not know what to do. Kolak promised change. The government would be there to protect the lives of its citizens, not control them. Mass civil disobedience became commonplace in a matter of weeks. Starting from February 12, 3268, mass protests took place every few days. The parliament turned on Eulian Yepara and his government, and deposed him. They then proceeded to retake control of the country and declared the Union of Aroida. First months of the Union of Aroida When the Centrist Party took power, they immediately passed a bill to end martial law and reinstates laws that protected the right to protest and freedom of speech. The laws took effect two days after they were approved by the senate. A new constitution was accepted on the same day. This constitution included a decentralization clause, meaning certain matters would be handled by a local, rather than federal, parliament. Politics Government President Anthony Kolak and vice president Kim Min-soo are both members of the Centrist Party and rose to power after their party won the 3268 presidential election. The Centrist Party can be described as an progressive, economically center-right party. Aroida has a unicameral legislative body called the Senate of Aroida. It consists of 3072 seats, of which the majority (2105) is occupied by members of the Centrist Party. The second largest party is the Economic Party, lead by Joanna Gardner. Military After the Aroida-HAS war, the Aroian people quickly began to restore their fleet and planetary defenses. More starship construction facilities were created every month and within ten years, the Aroian fleet consisted of more than three thousand ships, one thousand ships more than before. With the formation of the UNAE, Aroida and Evaria began to share their technology and many improvements were made to ships of both sides. Most of the UNAE fleet was constructed in Aroida, with the biggest construction site being in orbit of Syver (at the time called Aroida II). Military service is compulsory from age 21 to 27, even in times of peace. Ground troups can be deployed fairly quickly with the use of transport ships. Most warships carry at least five hundred crewmembers and are massive. Science vessels usually carry no more than two hundred crewmembers. Aroida's fleet is huge and it is estimated there are almost two billion soldiers and other military personnel. Culture Nightlife Aroian cities are known for their nightlife. Many young Aroians choose to spend time with friends in a club/bar and stay there for the rest of the night. Most bars tend to accommodate them by remaining open until daylight, even in smaller towns and on working days. Economy Aroida has a large mixed economy, with the most important industries being the export of ships, weapons, energy and democracy. These industries make up 73% of the Aroian economy. Demographics Religion Aroians are largely irreligious, but there are small minorities of Christians, Muslims and Buddhists. Most followers of these religions firmly believe in secularism, however. Religious minorities are protected under the Protection against Religious Discrimination bill, passed in 2581, when Aroida declared independence. Languages The official languages of Aroida are English, Russian and Spanish. The constitution is written in English. All three languages are used interchangeably and it is not uncommon for Aroians to mix two or three languages. After Isabela Britneiu's election, she lowered the status of English to a minority language. While English was spoken by more than 94% of the population, it was rarely used between Aroians themselves. The English spoken in Aroida is based on North American English, specifically the English spoken in the northern United States and southern Canada. When the Union of Aroida was established, English became an official language once again.